A missing mother-of-five allegedly murdered by her former lover had everything to live for and was making plans for the future, a court has heard.

Sarah Wellgreen, 46, has not been seen since disappearing from the home she shared with taxi driver Ben Lacomba, 39, in New Ash Green, in October 2018.

She had a new job as a beautician and was leading "a happy life with much to look forward to", a jury at London's Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Lacomba denies murdering Ms Wellgreen on October 9 2018. Despite extensive police searches, her body has never been found.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said Ms Wellgreen disappeared in the early hours of October 10 2018, adding: "That night, she was not abducted and murdered by a stranger.

"She did not leave her home voluntarily, abandoning her children for whatever reason, never to return.

"She was murdered by this defendant, her former partner.

"He then disposed of her body. Only this defendant knows where it is and exactly what he did that night."

The "precise" details of what happened to Ms Wellgreen are "not known to anyone other" than Lacomba, according to Ms Morgan.

She told the jury that the evidence provides a "compelling picture from which you can be sure that Sarah was killed by him and he then disposed of her body".

Lacomba murdered Ms Wellgreen in a "calculated manner designed to avoid detection, to leave no trace" and to "remove her from his life forever", according to the prosecution.

The couple met online in 2004 but by the time of the alleged murder their relationship was marked by "tensions and problems", the court heard.

They had split up but were still living under the same roof and it "appears that potential loss of that family home, that property, and his children motivated his actions", Ms Morgan said.